Technology Fail

In my last post I mentioned that I relied on technology too much, and it got me into trouble when my nephew was born. I figured I'd enlighten you on this little story. My nephew was due to be born on June 6, 2013. I was unable to fly home for this, so obviously my only connection was my phone.

Well, a few days before this, I was carrying around my Samsung Galaxy S2, and I had to use the restroom...yes, it's one of those stories. It was in my jacket pocket and just slipped out before I could grab it. Epic fail. Needless to say, I was frantic. I got it as dry as I possibly could and I stuck it in a bag of rice. I got onto Google and searched for what I needed to do. I used a vacuum to get out any extra water that was in there, and I was freaking out. I called my mom through the home phone and told her to keep in touch with me through Whitney's phone and we would figure things out from there. So there I was, no phone, my nephew about to be born, and I'm 2,600 miles away. I left my phone to sit in the rice for a couple nights and had no results.

Josh, my brother, texted Whitney to let me know that Reagan, my sister-in-law, was going into the hospital the night of June 5. Whitney was great, and made sure that she was near me so I could receive any and all updates.

Early on June 6 Whitney woke me up telling me Josh was on the phone. Instantly awake, I started shoving questions at him. He was freaking out; he was almost a daddy! All I could do was cry and try and calm his nerves for the big day. We hung up, and I went back to sleep for a couple hours--occasionally interrupted by updates on how Reagan was doing. When it became a decent hour I called my mom and we filled each other in on our morning. FYI, my mom is amazing. While I was stressing about everything and my phone she mentioned that I should say a prayer and try to turn on my phone again. I did, and guess what? It turned on! I would have cried if I wasn't already!

Well, Reagan kept dilating, but no baby nephew yet. The day kept moving along and I had to go to work. Well, work is crazy, I was emotionally strung up, and the baby still wasn't born. About a half hour into work I was texted with 6 pounds 8 ounces!

 

Now I'm a proud aunt to Krew Justin Dennis!!

The moral of this story is--never take your phone into the restroom with you. Or near any water at all, just to be safe :) And don't be so reliable on it that it throws off your whole day!

Also--I have a pretty dang cute nephew (:

I Can Do Anything.

Remember how I went to Alaska?

Remember how I loved it?

Well...that love wasn't instantaneous.

Once upon a time I told you all about my issues with change. It's hard for me, and, since I've written that post, I've realized that it is something I will always struggle with. I can't get my mind to just be okay with it right off the bat. It takes a lot more time for me to be okay with something. 

Anywho...back to Alaska. 

Here I am, making a six-month commitment to live with people I didn't really know, work at a hotel with people I didn't know, live in a place I didn't know, on top of getting there in a 49 hour (just driving) car ride. Bytheway...the car ride was with someone I knew, but that's a heck of a long drive! Needless to say I was a little <caughlotcaugh> overwhelmed. However, I followed my little change routine and I went. 

Can I just say I cried when I got to the Johnson's house? I literally got out, gave Alicia a hug, and balled my eyes out...while the missionaries were there! Needless to say I was not ready to be in the Land of the Midnight Sun. At. All. However, I couldn't just turn my back on everything, so I went ahead to begin my adventures. 

You're probably thinking that I quickly learned to love it up there. That is not the case. My first week of work was overwhelming, and the tours hadn't even started yet. Once those started I was like a chicken with its head cut off. People were grumpy, I was still learning, and I still hadn't adjusted to my new home. My mom had told me that I needed to give it at least a month before I gave up, and I was giving it a valiant effort. I instantly loved the people I lived with, but they had already started to try and get me to commit to the summer of 2014.

HA. Yeah right.

Thus began, what I thought would be, the longest six months of my life. Now you're probably wondering what the point of this story is. I have a problem with talking a lot--and that goes right into writing a lot. So, deal with the length or just move on to the next blog. I promise I won't be offended :)

Technology is an amazing thing. It kept me in touch with loved ones and friends, and I relied upon it heavily. Which got me in trouble when my nephew was born...but that's a whole other story. I remember calling my Grandma Esther after I had been in Alaska for a couple weeks to just catch up. Of course, I got into talking about how I was struggling and not sure it I could make it through the summer (I'm a wimp...I know). My Grandma is awesome. She understood why I was struggling, but she did not think my mindset of 'not being able to make it' was good enough. As I continued to vent to her she stopped me and said, "Courtney, you can do anything for six months."

I agreed and we finished out conversation, and I continued to be caught up in my change-crisis. After a couple more weeks I really thought about what she said.

You can do anything for six months.

I tend to shorten that into, you can do anything; no matter what comes your way, you can do it. And that is when I started loving Alaska--after a whole month of pretty much committing to the worst summer ever.

And guess what? I'm going back for summer of 2014.

Want to know what's even crazier? I'm getting my CDL to be a tour guide and drive a HUGE bus. 

And...I'm going to love it.

Brave.

Sometimes I hear a song and apply it to my life and it's all cool-like. Sometimes I see music videos of these awesome songs and it's pretty much the best thing ever. 

Sara Bareilles 

And since your history of silence
Won’t do you any good,
Did you think it would?
Let your words be anything but empty
Why don’t you tell them the truth?

Say what you wanna say
And let the words fall out
Honestly I wanna see you be brave

With what you want to say
And let the words fall out
Honestly I wanna see you be brave

Nobody will know what you want, when you want it, or how you want it if you never say anything. Pick up a little courage and you'd be surprised at where you can get. Obviously things won't always go your way....what is is...Murphy's Law? :) However, we'll never know what we can obtain if we are always silent and unmoving. Get up and do something you've always wanted to, and don't be afraid to say what you want to say. 

Honestly, I wanna see you be brave.

Oh, the Places You'll Go!

 Congratulations!

Today is your day.

You're off to Great Places!

You're off and away!

I hope that you are all familiar with Dr. Seuss. If not, you probably want to work on that one. I've always loved Dr. Seuss, and I even tried to get a scholarship through a Dr. Seuss essay. It actually was on the book that I quoted above, Oh, the Places You'll Go! Recently I've been redirected to this book and it's really helped me to keep things in perspective.

A little over a month ago I moved to Alaska to work for the summer. It was difficult for me to come here hardly knowing anybody and be required to make the most of it. I'm not very good at being social and putting myself out there, so making friends was a little hard, and I was sinking into a little pit of despair. I talked with my parents often, and the one day my dad suggested I reread Oh, the Places You'll Go!, and apply it to my life. Many times this book is given at graduations to inspire people to go anyway that they choose, and that is really the only part I remembered about it. That's not a bad thing, but there is a lot more to the story than just choosing you're own direction. You're encouraged to aim high and be the best.

You won't lag behind, because you'll have the speed.

You'll pass the whole gang and you'll soon take the lead.

Wherever you fly, you'll be best of the best.

Wherever you go, you will top all the rest.

However, I feel like the book is also realistic when it comes to life. Because who can be the best always? I know some of us would raise our hand if asked that question in a public atmosphere, but, honestly, I don't believe there's one person in this world who doesn't have doubts.

Except when you don't.

Because, sometimes, you won't.

I'm sorry to say so

but, sadly, it's true

that Bang-ups

and Hang-ups

can happen to you.

Isn't that true? Coming to Alaska was a bang-up for me at first. I was liking it here, but I wasn't sure I would be able to really become involved and love my time here. Then I thought to myself, Courtney. You. Are. Ridiculous. Seriously, you're in ALASKA. You drove here, and you have a great opportunity to make new friends, discover new things about yourself, and live in a beautiful place! How can you be negative about life when you are experiencing things you will look back on and never regret! Some people never have the chance to travel and see the world, and you're complaining because you are? Where is the sense in that?

So, I decided to be more positive. When things were looking down, I would find two things that were looking up. I tried to be more out-going so that I could make new friends. I decided to love everyday here for one reason or another. And you know what? It worked. It took me a while to get into the swing of things, but I did it. I won't say I'm perfect and I know everything and anything about Fairbanks, but I love it here. I've made a few friends that have helped me be more positive about me and to not be afraid of putting myself out there. I've found places that I love, and I continue to explore and love more things. I've told a few people back home that they should be thankful the mosquitoes are huge and the winter is horrible, because I would probably end up staying here if they weren't. :)

I mean, this is seriously what I get to see everyday. The sun is constantly up, there's always somebody who wants to have fun, and it's finally warm! I also have gotten to live with some great people, and become closer with Whitney. I mean, we see each other all of the time, so we share everything. Sometimes, it's a little crazy, but I love it.

Things may get rough, but there is always something to love. If you focus on the bright side, then the dark side will be out-shined.

Kid, you'll move mountains!

Alaskan Adventures

Hello! It's been a while, and I have been BUSY!! I moved to Alaska to work for the summer. My friend Whitney and I got jobs up here and hopped into the car and drove 49 hours to get to the little town of Fairbanks. We've been here for a few days and we start work today, which I'm a little nervous for but it will be good!

I was definitely nervous coming up here, and I kept stressing over everything. Right before I left my mom showed me this quote...

 

I think this is great because it is SO true (at least for me it is). I really try hard to enjoy each day as it comes, but I usually get hung up on the future and what it has in store for me and how my decisions now are going to affect everything later...and so on. However, I need to remember that I need to find joy in the journey. If I don't do that, then there is no point in living because we will just be worrying our days away.

Approach each new day with the attitude that everyday is an adventure. If you start out like this then you can't help but focus on the day and what's happening all around you. Don't forget the finish line, just remember to enjoy getting there. We have all the time in the world to reach the end; life isn't a race. Which reminds me of a quote from one of the apostles from my church, The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.

So get out there, and have fun enjoying your journeys!

Marshmallow Madness

I work as an after-school teacher at a local elementary school everyday, and I absolutely LOVE it! It's right up my alley as an elementary education major, and it's just a fun job. Each session we change up the classes we're teaching, and this time I chose a Marshmallow Madness class. I figured the kids would love it and there was a lot we could do to experiment. We started out making things with mini marshmallows and toothpicks and competing to see who could build the tallest building. Then we transitioned into races: how many can you stack on a Popsicle stick in your mouth, how many can you stack on top of each other, how many you can catapult into a paper bag, how many you can get into a cup with a straw, etc. It was a lot of fun, but the suspense has been building up until today... the last day of the class.

I usually tell my students what we will be doing because they seem to find out one way or another.  However, I have kept my lips sealed tight for today, and I was excited to surprise them all. They've been constantly trying to pry it out of me, but I knew it would be more fun if they didn't know. So yesterday I spent some time preparing to have an awesome time today making (drum roll please)......

MARSHMALLOW SHOOTERS!

Seriously, I have been looking forward to making these from the very beginning. You could say it's the whole reason I even made up the class. I was almost crushed because another class was having a pine wood derby race that would overlap my class. However, we figured it out and both were able to happen. First off, the race was legit, and the boys had a blast competing with their cars. I was glad we were able to watch. Second, my marshmallow students wouldn't stop asking me what we were doing! It was finally time to start class and I gathered everybody around. I took out one of the shooters and they didn't understand what the heck I was doing. However, once I shot a marshmallow at my fellow teacher I had them hooked, and they couldn't wait to get started. I passed out a bag of marshmallows and a shooter to each student and we headed out to start playing.

Can you say crazy!? As soon as I said go marshmallows were flying everywhere and I was a huge target (not a fat joke)! It was so much fun, and I wish I had taken pictures! At the end of our little war we picked up all the marshmallows and the kids carried on about how much fun they had. Talk about feeling like a little kid again... I had a TON of fun! :)

Since this was one of the coolest things ever I figured I would show you how I made them. They are super easy and cheap!

What you need:
Balloons
Plastic cups (I used 9 oz)
Mini marshmallows

Take your plastic cups and cut about the bottom third off. I tried using scissors and, I don't know if I'm just inept, but I could not keep the cups from breaking. So, I just used a knife, but be careful! It also helped to cut two at once to make it a little more sturdy.

Now, set those aside for the moment and focus on your balloons. I took all of them and tied them up as if they were filled with air.

Next, take a pair of scissors and cut off the end opposite the knot (the smaller the better).

Now you're ready to make this thing work! Stretch the balloon as far as you can and put it across the top lip of the cup. Try to make the knot be in the middle for best accuracy.

Now all you need are some marshmallows to shoot around! If we had time I probably would have let my students decorate their cups to make them more unique. You could also do a bunch of different games with it too... have target practice on the cement, or distance competitions, you could even do a kind of basketball thing. We just had a little war and reused marshmallows off the ground. It was awe.some. Seriously. And the kids had a blast, so it was absolutely worth it.

That's that. Hopefully you try it out...even if it's with your family or friends. Pretty sure this is one of those things that you would be pretty boring to not have fun with it :)

Everything will be alright

Pretty much I've come to the conclusion that nothing stays the same. Shocker, right? I know it's taken me a while to figure this out, but we all know how I deal with change. I like to believe that everything will just stay the same. Obviously there will be little changes and I can manage that, but, of course, I always get proven wrong and HUGE changes come my way constantly. I'm slowly becoming okay with this, and I'm a little more willing to accept change head on. Slowly being the key word. However, along with my realization of nothing staying the same, I've realized that things will be okay in the end.

 

I like how this quote words it. When we go through struggles we always say everything will be alright. Everything is going to work out and we will get through this. However, just because we get through it doesn't mean that everything will be just as it was when we started. I know that's a simple phrase, and it seems really obvious, but I think it's important for us to recognize this in our lives. Things change and that's alright. :)